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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · stem · season · wake · perch · bat · stick · cell

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. tear — from crying
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. tear — to rip
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. cell — a phone
  22. season — of the year
  23. wake — a trail
  24. season — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com